Munay Zamorano champions business succession as an alternative to starting up - Startups and venture capital

After buying a natural cosmetics business while still a university student and later selling it, Munay Zamorano is encouraging more young people to take over existing companies. She says succession can offer a working business model from day one, while a growing shortage of buyers puts many German small and medium-sized firms at risk.

Munay Zamorano became a company boss in her first full-time job. At 23, while studying business administration, she was working as a student employee for a natural cosmetics distributor when its owner announced plans to sell. Zamorano offered to buy it, despite having no previous experience running a business.

After months of discussions, she secured a bank loan and became the company’s managing partner. She had €30,000 in personal capital, according to her account, and the bank required her to address childcare arrangements in her business plan because she was visibly pregnant. The company later employed up to five people and generated annual revenue of €300,000 to €350,000, she said.

The business faced difficulties after a major customer, responsible for 40% of its revenue, ended the relationship. Zamorano set up an online shop and eventually sold the company at roughly break-even, with the buyer taking over the outstanding loan. She says the experience gave her practical business knowledge, but she does not present her own approach as a model to follow: she advises aspiring buyers to gain relevant work and management experience, and to consider acquiring a company with others.

Now taking a break from running a business, Zamorano advises young entrepreneurs and campaigns for business succession. She wants more people to consider buying established companies rather than focusing only on founding start-ups. A takeover can provide an operating business model and income from the outset, she argues. In Germany, she says, the role of succession receives less attention than start-ups, even though small and medium-sized businesses are central to the economy.

Figures cited in the article point to a widening gap between businesses seeking successors and potential buyers. According to the DIHK’s 2025 succession report, its advisory services dealt with 9,636 senior business owners and 4,016 people interested in taking over a company—a ratio of 2.4 businesses per prospective buyer. The imbalance is more pronounced in sectors including hospitality, retail and logistics.

DIHK small-business expert Marc Evers said the future of German entrepreneurship and innovation depends in part on successful succession. He warned that nearly 60% of businesses seeking advice could be left without a successor. Among the companies receiving advice, 72% of owners were considering stepping down because of age, while 27% were considering closure, including because they could not find a buyer.

Zamorano also wants succession training to become more widely available, particularly for women. The share of women among business successors fell to 18.9%, according to the 2025 succession monitor. The monitor also found that about 80% of businesses are taken over by a single person, a pattern Zamorano believes could change if more buyers considered joining forces.

Germany’s regional chambers of commerce already offer seminars, workshops and webinars for prospective buyers, the DIHK says. Zamorano is calling for a nationwide program to make succession a more visible route into entrepreneurship. She says she expects to run a business again, although she has no specific plans yet.

Sources: Handelsblatt.